The word 'hopak' comes from the Ukrainian verb 'hopaty', which means 'to jump'. And that is exactly what dancers do - they leap, kick, drop into the splits, spring back up, and leap again. A good hopak dancer is part dancer, part gymnast.
Dancers wear bright traditional costumes. Boys often wear wide-legged red trousers called 'sharavary', tall boots, and embroidered shirts. Girls wear flower wreaths in their hair, with long ribbons trailing down, white embroidered blouses and full skirts with embroidered aprons.
Hopak is danced to fast accordion music, often with violins, drums and a bandura joining in. The music gets quicker and quicker as the dance goes on, and the dancers get faster and faster until everyone is whirling. The dance usually ends with a big leap, a freeze, and big smiles.
Hopak is so famous that other dances around the world have copied moves from it. Some of the famous Cossack-style jumping kicks that you see in cartoons and films come straight from hopak. Children in Ukraine learn it at school, and there are hopak competitions where dancers from all over the country compete.